After 12 years of pontificate, Pope Francis, the supreme leader of the Catholic Church, died this Easter Monday morning at the age of 88.

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This was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, camarlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, Vatican News reported.

“Dearest brothers and sisters, it is with deep sorrow that I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning (Rome time), the bishop of Rome, Francis, has returned to the father’s house,” he reported.

The pontiff had been discharged on March 23 after being hospitalized since February 14 of this year, Valentine’s Day, due to a slight fever and the worsening of a polybacterial respiratory infection.

The clinical condition of Francis, who was admitted to the Gemelli hospital in Rome, became complicated after he was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.

Subsequently, the Vatican reported that the religious leader was in delicate condition on February 22 after a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen. The Vatican news agency also indicated that Francis was suffering from mild renal insufficiency.

According to The Associated Press, he spent 38 days in hospital, the longest hospitalization of his pontificate.

After being discharged, the pope continued with his treatments and made several surprise appearances in St. Peter’s Basilica.

In fact, on Easter Sunday - one day before his death - he decided to go out to bless thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square and surprise them with a ride in the popemobile around the square.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, also known as Pope Francis, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936. He was the son of the Italian couple Mario José Francisco Bergoglio and Regina María Sivori.

Francis was the first Latin American pope and the first Jesuit to assume leadership of the Catholic Church.

As a child, he learned to pray from the teachings of his grandmother. However, before entering the priesthood, he graduated as a chemical technician from E.N.E.T. N°27 “Hipólito Yrigoyen”.

According to the governmental portal of the city of Buenos Aires, it is there that he is rumored to have developed a penchant for sports such as soccer and basketball.

At the age of 17, he entered the diocesan seminary of Villa Devoto. Later, on March 11, 1958, he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus.

During his formation, he graduated in psychology and theology. He also taught literature and psychology at the Colegio de la Inmaculada in Santa Fe and at the Colegio del Salvador in Buenos Aires.

In 1969, he was ordained as a priest and was elected provincial of the Jesuits of Argentina in 1973. He held this position for six years.

He also worked at the collegiate level as rector and priest of the parish of San Miguel. He also served as spiritual director and confessor in Buenos Aires.

In May 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular bishop of Auca and auxiliary of Buenos Aires. Francisco was then appointed episcopal vicar of the Flores neighborhood and later served as vicar general of the archdiocese.

In 2001, John Paul II named him a cardinal and assigned him the title of St. Robert Bellarmine.

Subsequently, on March 12, 2013 and following the resignation of Benedict XVI, he was elected as the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church.

During his papacy, the religious leader was recognized for his actions to support immigrant rights, as well as his reforms of the Holy See’s penal code to increase sanctions against pedophiles.

He also promoted peace and solidarity among the most vulnerable populations.

In his first historic visit to Cuba in 2015, Francis also urged the Caribbean country and the United States to continue the process of normalizing relations after they re-established diplomatic ties.

However, his career was not without controversy, including times when he made controversial statements about the LGBTQ+ community, although he was seen by many as a more inclusive leader than his predecessors. Similarly, in his later years, he spoke out more emphatically than he did at the beginning of his pontificate against abortion.

In 2015, he became the fourth pope to offer a speech at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.

In 2019, he signed a document pledging cooperation between Christians and Muslims to work for peace with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Egypt.

During his lifetime, Francis suffered from a series of health problems. As a young man, he suffered from a severe respiratory infection that forced doctors to remove part of a lung.

After the operation, Pope Francis suffered from multiple respiratory infections and other ailments, such as diverticulosis and an abdominal hernia.

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With information from The Associated Press and the official Vatican website.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.